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TN politicians may push to end VW incentives if plant goes union

Volkswagen's Chattanooga Assembly Plant is scheduled to vote on whether to unionize in the coming days, but Tennessee state lawmakers are threatening to deny future tax subsidies to the factory, if the vote is successful. The factory is currently the only Volkswagen plant worldwide that is not unionized.
The states's Republican lawmakers have been particularly vocal against the union vote. Tennessee state senator Bo Watson said during a press conference that VW would have a "very tough time" with future incentives if the vote were successful, according to Automotive News. Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said the "heavy hand" of the UAW is not welcome there. VW has drawn criticism from both sides because it has allowed both pro- and anti-union groups to speak to workers and hand out leaflets.
Roughly 1,500 factory employees will vote on whether to unionize from February 12-14. If successful, the Chattanooga factory would be the first in the US organized under a German-style works council system where white- and blue-collar workers directly negotiate factory issues with the company's management.

New Audi design chief Massimo Frascella shaped cars for Jaguar Land Rover

At the Audi brand, style and design have long been a high priority; think the super sleek and sexy A7 sedan, the Bauhaus-inspired TT coupe, the single-frame grille that instantly identified the marque with its down-the-road graphics. So when the Bavarians install a new head of design, that’s also worth a look. Massimo Frascella is that person, a 52-year-old Italian designer who this summer will succeed Marc Lichte. Lichte ran Audi design since 2014 and will take up a new role within the Volkswagen Group. Frascella, a student at the Istituto d`Arte Applicata & Design in Turin, ignited his career at Stile Bertone, and his resume after that evolves impressively. He subsequently held positions at Ford Motor Company and Kia, and since 2011, Frascella has held senior positions at Jaguar Land Rover. He was responsible for the creation of several models: Discovery Vision Concept (2014), Discovery Sport (2014), Discovery (2016), Velar (2017), Evoque (2019) and Defender. In 2019 he became creative director of Land Rover and in 2020 design director. He was also instrumental in the development of the range of new electric Jaguars that are in the works. “Joining Audi is a very special moment for me,” Frascella said. “I am deeply honored to assume the role of chief creative officer and to guide such a talented team in shaping the future of the brand to new heights of innovation and distinction. I believe in the emotional power of design to inspire, connect, and drive change, and I am here to nurture and promote creativity as the beating heart of our brand.” Looking back a couple of decades, it was one of FrascellaÂ’s predecessors who helped to cement AudiÂ’s reputation in automobile design: Walter de Silva. De Silva was appointed head of Audi design in 2002. From 2007 to 2015, he supervised the design strategy for the entire Volkswagen group, including the TT, the Scirocco, the Passat and the Golf. Not a bad list of achievements, but in a interview several years ago, de Silva said that he considered the 2007 Audi A5 coupe the pinnacle of his automotive design art, citing its “sex appeal, the shape of the lights, the architecture.” Design/Style Audi Jaguar Land Rover Volkswagen Automotive History

Scott Pruitt unfiltered: EPA administrator talks climate science, car emissions

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt gave Reuters a wide-ranging interview on Monday at his office in Washington, discussing issues from climate science to automobile emissions. The following is a full transcript of the interview: REUTERS: You have said the EPA will focus on a "Back to Basics" approach under your leadership. What does this mean for how EPA enforces polluters? You have been critical of the idea of regulation by enforcement. PRUITT: I think what I'm speaking about, there is a consent decree approach to enforcement, where you use judicial proceedings to actually engage in regulation. Enforcement should be about existing regulations that you're actually enforcing against someone who may be violating that, very much in the prosecutorial manner. As attorney general [in Oklahoma], I lived that. There was a grand jury that I led. Being a prosecutor, I understand very much the importance of prioritization, of enforcing the rule of law, of addressing bad actors. That's something we are going to do in a meaningful way across the broad spectrum of cases, whether it is in the office of air or the Superfund area, or otherwise. REUTERS: Do you want to see states play a bigger role in enforcing polluters, even though some have less of a capacity to do so – financially and personnel wise? PRUITT: I think the state's role is really, when you look at this office working with states, it should be how do we assist, how do we engage in compliance and assistance with states. The office [at EPA that deals with enforcement] is called OECA, the Office of Enforcement, Compliance and Assistance, so those are the tools we have in the toolbox to achieve better outcomes. So what we ought to be doing is working proactively with state DEQs [Departments of Environmental Quality] to get their state implementation plans [for federal regulations] timely submitted, provide assistance and technical support, drive a draft of state implementation plans, and then actually work with them on how to achieve through those plans better outcomes and air and water quality. As far as enforcement is concerned, we will actually work with states. We actually did that recently with Colorado. There was an oil and gas company that was emitting some 3,000 tons, is that what it was, it was quite a bit of ... it was an ozone case. In any event, we joined with Colorado in that prosecution. So sometimes states will do it, sometimes we will join with them.